The present invention relates to a scanning-exposure apparatus which scan-exposes an image on a photographic film onto a photosensitive material, and more specifically to a scanning-exposure apparatus in which a sheet of photographic film is subjected to reciprocating motion employing a scanning/moving means, and during the above-mentioned reciprocating motion, the photographic film is scanned during the forward motion or the backward motion.
Exposure apparatuses in which an image on photographic film (for example, color negative film, reversal film, black-and-white film, etc.) is exposed onto a photosensitive material (for example, photographic paper such as color paper, etc.), include a stationary exposure apparatus in which the whole area of one frame of a photographic film is lighted and the whole area is exposed onto a photosensitive material employing the transmitted light. In this stationary exposure apparatus, in order to focus the image of the photographic film onto the photosensitive material, an optical system is linearly arranged, which results in a dimensional increase of the apparatus.
Accordingly, in order to dimensionally decrease the apparatus, a scanning-exposure apparatus has been developed which is described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Detection No. 3-216636. In such a scanning-exposure apparatus, an image on photographic film is exposed onto a photosensitive material in such a way that a photographic film is placed on a film platen and this film platen is moved, in under synchronization with the photosensitive material, in the sub-scanning direction at a moving speed corresponding to the magnification, employing a pulse motor.
In such a scanning-exposure apparatus, when photographic film is subjected to scanning-exposure, a plurality of frame images are recorded on the photographic film; for example, when one frame is required to be subjected to a plurality of scanning-exposures, the photographic film is subjected to reciprocating motion employing the scanning/moving means. On account of that, as compared with the above-mentioned stationary exposure type, the requirement for the motion which is not associated with exposure results in a decrease in processing speed.
Furthermore, there are various formats (110, 120, 135, IX240 (APS), etc.) for photographic films, and also various formats (E size, L size, postcard, cabinet, 2L, 2L-wide , 8 .times.10 inch size, 10.times.12 inch size, panorama, hi-vision, etc.) for photosensitive materials. Therefore, when the image on a sheet of photographic film is exposed onto a photosensitive material, magnification requires it to be acceptable for size increases up to ten-odd times. In order to be adapted to such a wide range of magnification, if only the speed of either the photographic film or the photosensitive material is varied (vary the relative speed), the driving system exceeds its operational limits. Therefore, it is required to vary both, and the moving speed of the photographic film is variously changed. In this case, particularly at high magnification, in order to decrease the moving speed, when the photographic film is always moved at such a speed, a decrease in processing speed is caused.